Two important factors in virtual reality simulations: Nursing students' experiences of cybersickness and sense of presence

Background

With the increasing popularity of employing virtual reality simulations in nursing education comes the need for more research examining their effects on users besides learning outcomes. This study explored nursing students' perceptions of a sense of presence and experiences of cybersickness in virtual reality simulations.

Method

A descriptive-analytic research design was employed. Between March and July 2024, 102 second-year undergraduate nursing students participated in an immersive virtual reality simulation focused on postoperative colorectal surgery care. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic Characteristics Form, the Presence Questionnaire, and the Virtual Reality Sickness Questionnaire. Student’s t-test, Mann–Whitney U test, and Kruskal–Wallis test were used to compare variables.

Results

The study revealed that nursing students experienced high levels of presence and only slight symptoms of cybersickness. Additionally, a statistically significant difference was observed both between gender and the adaptation/immersion subdimension of sense of presence, and between the presence of vision problems and the disorientation subdimension of cybersickness.

Conclusions

Since virtual reality is anticipated to become the leading teaching method in future nursing education, and therefore to maximize its potential, efforts should focus on increasing the sense of presence and reducing cybersickness.